Inspired by the über-talented Barb over at Creative Culinary, I just *had* to make these rolls. You see, she tweeted about the bourbon date cinnamon rolls she was making and I couldn't get them out of my head. I knew I had the ingredients on hand, so when I got home, I immediately set to making them.
I'm not going to include a proper recipe in this post because I was seriously winging it, but I'll let you know what I did so you can give it a go. What I would suggest is going over to Barb's blog and check out her recipe. I'm sure it is phenomenal as everything I've made of hers — and there have been MANY – are keepers.

I used Peter Reinhart's cinnamon roll recipe for the dough, with the exception of the egg. Oops. I completely spaced it when mixing the dough, hence the reason for a properly assembled mise en place!
I roughly chopped some dates and put them in a bowl, poured some bourbon over the top and let them soak while the dough was rising. When it was time to assemble the rolls, I ran the dates and bourbon through my food processor to create a lovely and fragrant paste. I added about 1/4 cup of sugar (could have used more, but the sugary icing made up for the lack) and 2 heaping teaspoons of cinnamon. Mixed that all together and spread it over the flattened dough. I then sprinkled about a cup and a half of fresh blueberries over that, rolled it up and cut them into rolls.
I decided to go with a simple powdered sugar and milk icing but added a half teaspoon of vanilla extract, seeds from one vanilla bean, and half a teaspoon of caramel extract. (I LOVE this stuff, and you might remember that I've used in around here before in these cookies, oh and these, too, among other things.)
I used at least a cup and a half (probably more like two) of powdered sugar, then just added enough milk to make it the correct consistency, and drizzled it over the tops of the rolls, being rather generous with my "dripping." Nothing wrong with that!

The verdict: gooey, sweet, fresh rolls begging for a cup of coffee or a tall glass of milk.
Remember, you can get the recipe for Barb Kieble's amazing Date, Walnut and Bourbon Cinnamon Rolls (with cream cheese frosting - OH MY!) over at Creative Culinary.
These are gorgeous Kelly...boy you were quick too; I'll get my post up tomorrow. Wish we could share over a cup of coffee!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barb! I'm definitely glad I saw your tweets! Just checked your post. *wolf whistle* They are gorgeous! And I agree - a chat over a roll and cup of coffee sounds pretty great!
DeleteLooks sooooo good :D !!
ReplyDeleteThank you! They taste even better. ;)
DeleteOH. MAH. GOSH. These look SO awesome, Kelly!
ReplyDeletewow, those photos just reached out and tried to hump my eyeballs! Yum!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Hello answer to my next sugar craven. Wonder if it works gluten free. I'll give it a go! Thanks for sharing. Happy to be following your blog.
ReplyDeleteBella xx
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